PRESS DIGEST - Sunday British business - Oct 7

LONDON

LONDON Oct 7 British newspapers reported the
following business stories on Sunday.

Sunday Times
GERMAN THREAT TO BLOCK BAE DEAL
Germany has threatened to scupper the 28 billion pound ($45
billion) merger of BAE Systems and EADS unless
the headquarters of the combined company is located in Munich.

SHOWDOWN LOOMS AT ROTHSCHILD COAL GIANT
Directors of Bumi, the London-listed coal miner
created by Nat Rothschild, plan to strip its Indonesian backers
of their powers or force them to sell out of the beleaguered
group.

AUSSIE ENTERS RACE TO TAKE OVER AS BANK OF ENGLAND GOVERNOR
Glenn Stevens, 54, the head of Australia's central bank, has
emerged as a dark horse contender in the race to become the new
governor of the Bank of England.

FIRST GROUP 'IN DARK' OVER RAILWAY U-TURN
Transport officials have yet to tell First Group why the
lucrative west coast rail contract was snatched from it,
according to the company's chief executive. Tim O'Toole said he
was considering legal action against the government and did not
rule out raising cash with a rights issue to shore up the
company's finances.

BG SETS SIGHTS ON CENTRICA'S TOP MAN
The chairman of BG Group has made an audacious attempt to
poach Sam Laidlaw, the boss of British Gas owner Centrica
, to run the FTSE 100 energy giant.

LOANS BATTLE AT WEMBLEY
The owner of Wembley Stadium has warned that a significant fall
in income or delay in large payments could force the company to
break the terms of its bank loans. The company, Wembley National
Stadium, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Football
Association, the newspaper said.

HEDGE FUNDS BOOST SPAIN
Spain has been handed a temporary reprieve from the threat of a
European bailout after American hedge funds started buying the
company's bonds.

WONGA BOSSES LAND 18 MILLION POUNDS AS PAYDAY LENDING BOOMS
Wonga, the online lender, has handed its staff a windfall of
nearly 18 million pounds in a move that is likely to stoke
controversy over the payday loans industry.

SURREY WATER BIDS
Sutton and East Surrey Water has been put up for sale with a
price tag of 250 to 300 million pounds by its owner Icon
Infrastructure.

Sunday Telegraph
INVESTORS REBEL OVER BAE DEAL
BAE Systems is facing a growing investor revolt over its plans
to merge with European rival EADS, just days before it has to
agree the deal, abandon it or apply for more time from the
Takeover Panel.

PM DRAWN INTO WEST COAST ROW
Prime Minister David Cameron personally intervened in the
bidding process for the west coast mainline rail service and
asked Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to investigate the
matter after a private appeal from Sir Richard Branson.

ENRC SHAKES UP TOP TEAM
The chairman of troubled ENRC is to bolster the mining
giant's senior management with a raft of new appointments aimed
at appeasing investors and bringing a halt to the company's
share price slide.
TESCO SIGNALS COOLING ON US
Philip Clarke has told Tesco investors that the
supermarket group's beleaguered U.S. division, Fresh & Easy,
will not make a profit in its current form after dramatically
halting investment in new shops.
NEW BIDDER FOR KP NUTS BUSINESS
A Russian-British private equity firm backed by businessman
Mikhail Fridman has become one of the favourites to win the 450
million pound auction for KP Snacks.

Mail on Sunday
CHINA IN SECRET TALKS ON UK NUCLEAR PLANT STAKE
China is poised to take a multi-billion pound stake in the
building of a nuclear power plant in Somerset with French energy
giant EDF.

RECORD PROFIT AT WHSMITH
Britain's biggest newsagent WHSmith will this week
smash through the 100 million pounds profit mark for the first
time since chief executive Kate Swann arrived to restructure the
business nine years ago.

L'OREAL 'IS READY TO SELL' THE BODY SHOP
A former suitor for The Body Shop health and beauty chain says
it is being groomed for sale by French owner L'Oreal.

Independent on Sunday
EADS WILL DITCH BAE DEAL OVER GOVERNMENT DEMANDS
Aerospace giant EADS is preparing to dump its audacious 30
billion pound merger with British defence group BAE Systems if
European governments fail to lower their demands over the next
three days.

SCARDINO PREPARES TO QUIT NOKIA AFTER LEAVING PEARSON
Days after announcing her departure from the helm of Financial
Times owner Pearson, Dame Marjorie Scardino is
preparing to give up her role as vice-chairman of troubled
phone-maker Nokia.

SCEPTICAL TRADERS SET TO UNDERMINE DIRECT LINE
City brokers are warning the flotation of insurer Direct Line
could be undermined by an army of sceptics poised to bet against
the shares when they start trading next week following a recent
poor track record of other high-profile listings.

Trending On Reuters

Markets Weekahead

With the Nifty breaching 8,500, sentiments are again bullish. But markets have been in the 8,200-8,600 range for some time and stocks across the board do not give the required confidence except for the liquidity factor. Many frontline stocks are not participating on the upside and the core sector is in a downtrend, writes Ambareesh Baliga. Column